This past weekend in Cornell hockey was exciting for more than one reason. On Friday fans packed Lynah, for an important ECAC and Ivy match-up, on Saturday the senior class was celebrated and a share of the Ivy League was won. Let's look back at last weekend and ahead to the final weekend of regular-season play for the Lady Rouge.
Harvard
In an initiative to pack Lynah, the women's team drew almost 2,200 fans to Lynah to see their penultimate regular-season home game against rival Harvard. Rally towels were given out to the first 2,000 fans to enter and the atmosphere was electric. The first period was even in terms of shots (7-5 in favor of the Crimson), but the scoreboard told a different story. Lauriane Rougeau netted one six and a half minutes into the first from Taylor Woods and Erin Barley-Maloney. The second was controlled by the Big Red, at least in shots as they had a 16-7 shot differential, but Harvard evened it up. The third was tight for the first eight minutes. Then Jessica Campbell scored the eventual game winner from Erin Barley-Maloney and Alyssa Gagliardi. That wouldn't be it for Campbell, though. She scored a shorthanded goal from Barley-Maloney and Laura Fortino. The Big Red ended the game 3-1, outshooting the Crimson 31-20.
Dartmouth
The Dartmouth game the next afternoon was even tighter than the previous night. In spite of 34 shots by the Big Red and 23 by the Big Green, and a five-minute overtime, the game ended as it began, tied at 0. The Big Red did score a goal in overtime, but for some reason, it was called off. However, in spite of a tie, all was not lost. The Big Red won a share of the Ivy League title. Should Harvard lose or tie a game against Brown or Yale, Cornell is the outright winner. Otherwise, the two will both hold a share of the title. This is the fourth year in a row that the Big Red have a share of the Ivy.
Harvard
In an initiative to pack Lynah, the women's team drew almost 2,200 fans to Lynah to see their penultimate regular-season home game against rival Harvard. Rally towels were given out to the first 2,000 fans to enter and the atmosphere was electric. The first period was even in terms of shots (7-5 in favor of the Crimson), but the scoreboard told a different story. Lauriane Rougeau netted one six and a half minutes into the first from Taylor Woods and Erin Barley-Maloney. The second was controlled by the Big Red, at least in shots as they had a 16-7 shot differential, but Harvard evened it up. The third was tight for the first eight minutes. Then Jessica Campbell scored the eventual game winner from Erin Barley-Maloney and Alyssa Gagliardi. That wouldn't be it for Campbell, though. She scored a shorthanded goal from Barley-Maloney and Laura Fortino. The Big Red ended the game 3-1, outshooting the Crimson 31-20.
Dartmouth
The Dartmouth game the next afternoon was even tighter than the previous night. In spite of 34 shots by the Big Red and 23 by the Big Green, and a five-minute overtime, the game ended as it began, tied at 0. The Big Red did score a goal in overtime, but for some reason, it was called off. However, in spite of a tie, all was not lost. The Big Red won a share of the Ivy League title. Should Harvard lose or tie a game against Brown or Yale, Cornell is the outright winner. Otherwise, the two will both hold a share of the title. This is the fourth year in a row that the Big Red have a share of the Ivy.
Next weekend
RPI
The last game Cornell played RPI was a closer one than expected. Cornell ended up winning 3-1 in a hard fought match-up against the Engineers. The Lady Rouge outshot the Engineers 38-18, scored on one of six power plays, kept the Engineers scoreless on five power-play opportunities. Since their last meeting, the Engineers have gone 1-2-1, and have 18 points in ECAC play. They are firmly in seventh place. Assuming #8 Princeton sweeps their weekend, they can only reach 16 points; #7 Colgate can only get to 15 points with a sweep; #9 Brown can get to 16 points if it beats all three teams it plays this weekend; #10 Yale can get to 14 points if they gather three wins. The Engineers will not be touched. Additionally, their nearest neighbor to the north is Dartmouth, at 24 points. RPI cannot reach them in two games, so RPI will end the regular season at #7, with a spot in the playoffs against the yet-to-be-decided second seed, regardless how they do this weekend.
Cornell, on the other hand, does not have a set spot in the playoffs. It can finish as high as first or as low as third. Let's look at what Cornell will have to do in order to beat RPI. The Engineers have an 81.1 percent penalty kill and a 14 percent conversion rate on the power play. Their starter in net has just over a .900 save percentage. Cornell will need to do what they did last game against RPI in order to win. They'll need to control the shot count, control the power play, and control the special teams battle.
Union
Cornell will go to meet the Dutchwomen on their Senior Night at Messa Rink. The Dutchwomen have gone winless in ECAC play in spite of seven wins out of conference. They tied four times against ECAC teams, both games against Yale, as well as ties against Princeton and Quinnipiac. Union has proven itself to be a tougher team than expected, but it finds itself in quite a similar yet distinct place from RPI. Like RPI, Union's ECAC rank is set. It will come in 12th regardless of what it does this weekend. However, unlike RPI, the Dutchwomen will be shut out from the playoffs.
They have, however, tied the number five team in the league, a team that found a way to defeat the Big Red. So the Big Red will have to do all the little things right that ensured it its 8-1 victory against Union at Lynah. The Lady Rouge will need to outshoot the Dutchwomen, and be disciplined on the power play and penalty kill. They will need to find the net in a way they did not this past weekend.
RPI
The last game Cornell played RPI was a closer one than expected. Cornell ended up winning 3-1 in a hard fought match-up against the Engineers. The Lady Rouge outshot the Engineers 38-18, scored on one of six power plays, kept the Engineers scoreless on five power-play opportunities. Since their last meeting, the Engineers have gone 1-2-1, and have 18 points in ECAC play. They are firmly in seventh place. Assuming #8 Princeton sweeps their weekend, they can only reach 16 points; #7 Colgate can only get to 15 points with a sweep; #9 Brown can get to 16 points if it beats all three teams it plays this weekend; #10 Yale can get to 14 points if they gather three wins. The Engineers will not be touched. Additionally, their nearest neighbor to the north is Dartmouth, at 24 points. RPI cannot reach them in two games, so RPI will end the regular season at #7, with a spot in the playoffs against the yet-to-be-decided second seed, regardless how they do this weekend.
Cornell, on the other hand, does not have a set spot in the playoffs. It can finish as high as first or as low as third. Let's look at what Cornell will have to do in order to beat RPI. The Engineers have an 81.1 percent penalty kill and a 14 percent conversion rate on the power play. Their starter in net has just over a .900 save percentage. Cornell will need to do what they did last game against RPI in order to win. They'll need to control the shot count, control the power play, and control the special teams battle.
Union
Cornell will go to meet the Dutchwomen on their Senior Night at Messa Rink. The Dutchwomen have gone winless in ECAC play in spite of seven wins out of conference. They tied four times against ECAC teams, both games against Yale, as well as ties against Princeton and Quinnipiac. Union has proven itself to be a tougher team than expected, but it finds itself in quite a similar yet distinct place from RPI. Like RPI, Union's ECAC rank is set. It will come in 12th regardless of what it does this weekend. However, unlike RPI, the Dutchwomen will be shut out from the playoffs.
They have, however, tied the number five team in the league, a team that found a way to defeat the Big Red. So the Big Red will have to do all the little things right that ensured it its 8-1 victory against Union at Lynah. The Lady Rouge will need to outshoot the Dutchwomen, and be disciplined on the power play and penalty kill. They will need to find the net in a way they did not this past weekend.
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